Broken, Yet Beautiful

"Now remember, look for the pretty ones."

The young mom was holding tightly to the hand of her little son as they strolled along the beach this morning. He was focused on the sand as he toddled along, clearly mesmerized by the beautiful field of sea shells that stretched out before him.
It was a familiar scene, one that my husband and I have seen played out many times this past week and one we've experienced with our own daughter on those sweet summer days past.
I smiled to myself as I recalled those walks, holding her tiny hand and carrying a pail filled with her 'treasures'. As I overheard what this mother said to her son, I remarked to my husband "She's telling him the wrong thing. She should be telling him to look for the whole shells."
While that brought a laugh from him, he remembered as did I that my daughter had collected anything but whole shells from our beach walks, the words were no sooner out of my mouth than I wanted to take them back.

Why is it that as an adult, I tend to look at the perfect things, the complete things, the whole things as the best and most beautiful?
I think of the times that Emma brought me pieces of seashells so beautiful that their colors were beyond description. Their curves and lines and markings so distinct that there was no doubt that they'd been carved by the hand of God.
She saw the beauty in those broken things.
What I saw as pretty but useless, she saw as an object of awe. Beauty for the sake of beauty. No matter that it was broken. 

And that's exactly as our God sees us.
Broken, but beautiful.

He's in the business of creating beauty out of brokenness.
Healing our broken hearts with a love so deep and so vast and so enduring that nothing can ever separate us from it.

Our Father takes us from the dead places, the hurting places, the forgotten places and gives us a transformed life, creating beauty that shines in a way that only He can create.
How long has it been since someone told you that you are beautiful?
How long has it been since you believed that you are loved, valued and treasured?
Really believed it.

No matter where you've been, no matter what you've done, the amazing God who created the oceans and everything in them - yes, the broken shells too - is ready to show you how valuable and how beautiful you are to Him.
Those lines and marks and pits on the outside of your shell?
They stand as a reminder of who you once were - before the God of the universe turned you over to reveal the amazing array of color underneath.
The treasure that you are.

So maybe it's time we stopped looking to the perfect, the complete, the whole in order to find beauty.
Instead we need to look at the undeniable beauty of His love in us, making us shine in ways that only He can.
For what He has made beautiful, He has made whole, even if no one sees it but you.

"He has made everything beautiful in its time." - Ecclesiastes 3:11

With a Courageous heart,
~~Robin

There is a song that I wanted to share with you all, it's been a favorite of mine for a very long time, but there is no video to be found for it. I've attached a link to the audio file on Spotify here for you, so hopefully, you can listen and let it bless you as it does me.
It's a song by Point of Grace called Broken Thing and here is a bit of the lyrics:

"You found beauty in this broken thing
Made angels dance with wounded wings
I can't imagine anything more beautiful

You took the damaged part of me
Restored what little dignity was left inside
Was left inside this broken thing

I know I'm not worthy of this
Never ending perfect love

I can't imagine anything more beautiful"

Broken Thing by Point of Grace